Eric & Suzy Thompson have devoted their lives to the pursuit of weird and obscure old-time American music — warped fiddle tunes in odd tunings, cinematic ballads, country blues songs that contain mysterious metaphors, early Cajun music with incomprehensible French lyrics and backwards chords. They’ve recently harvested a new crop of old music on their CD "Dream Shadows." Using fiddle, mandolin, guitars, Cajun accordion, banjo (and the occasional odd instrument such as the ten-stringed cuatro) they bring these early 20th century sounds right into the present day. Eric’s picking on guitar and mandolin is a model of tone and tastiness, and his relaxed, down-home singing evokes Mississippi John Hurt. Suzy is known for her bluesy fiddling (which appears on two of this year's best acoustic blues CDs, "Texas Sheiks" by Geoff Muldaur & the Texas Sheiks, and "Garden of Joy" by Maria Muldaur) and her strong, straightforward and soulful vocals. Suzy & Eric are the driving force behind the Berkeley Old-Time Music Convention, and are veterans of dozens of bands: Todalo Shakers, Any Old Time, Black Mountain Boys, Bluegrass Intentions, California Cajun Orchestra, and many more. In recent years, their musical collaborators have included Geoff Muldaur, Jim Kweskin, Jody Stecher, Del Rey, Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum, Steve James, and Alice Gerrard, among others.